Getting out of tricky situations isn't easy. But along the way, I get to hang out with princesses (they never wear their crowns), camel jockeys (literally!) and famous (well at least quasi-famous) people...all for the love of media.

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Monday, March 13, 2017

Don Draper is a Demigod

Only Don Draper could write $1,000,000 checks AND have his ads run 50 years later.

Today I ask myself this definitive questions: Is is bad to be jealous of a fictional character?

Strolling through New York City—49th and 7th to be exact—revealed that Don Draper's "Pass the Heinz" ads are running a full fifty television years later. Yes, when Mad Men's Draper pitched an ad campaign, clients typically ate it up and then greenlit the campaigns. In the Heinz pitch, navigates through a “Got Milk?”-like set of creatives to create a craving for a product through its absence. This concept wouldn't gather steam until the 80s. On the show the “Pass the Heinz” campaign did not impress the Ketchup Brass and they ultimately pass.

"Pass the Heinz" billboard at 49th and 7th

Fast forward fifty in years in TV times) or four years here in real Earth time...and Don Draper wins again.

Personal issues aside, Draper is some kind of advertising Demigod. I know he couldn't keep a wife, be a decent father, or stay sober, but jeez, the guy knew advertising and how to push consumer's buttons. Plus, he made the equivalent of $300,000 and lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. What a life!

In a clever press release, Heinz says it “selected the ‘Pass the Heinz’ campaign after an agency review because it is clever, modern and doesn’t require paragraphs of copy to convey what Heinz brings to the table. Whether it’s fries without Heinz ketchup or hot dogs without Heinz mustard, this campaign perfectly captures the desire for great-tasting Heinz products with America’s favorite foods,” the (real) company said.

Partly a PR stunt, the ads are officially being credited to Heinz’s current agency, David Miami, and to Draper's fictional 1960s firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. (Draper and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, who approved the idea, are both listed in the credits.)

Below are the ads that are running in the New York Post and across the Heinz social media channels:

In the end, Draper took fifty years to get this campaign launched and as I watch his deft pitch, I'm reminded that I should be jealous. #DraperForever